Heroes
If you haven't been watching Heroes... you are missing out on one of the best serial dramas that has been on TV in recent memory.

You can catch up on past episodes over at NBC.com -- and you really should, because... holy crap...

If you watched tonight's episode, you know what I mean. If not... get caught up and come to know what I'm taking about.
- posted by Josh @ 9:08 PM (0) comments

 
From Savenetradio.org:

On March 2, 2007 the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB), which oversees sound recording royalties paid by Internet radio services, increased Internet radio's royalty burden between 300 and 1200 percent and thereby jeopardized the industry’s future.

At the request of the Recording Industry Association of America, the CRB ignored the fact that Internet radio royalties were already double what satellite radio pays, and multiplied the royalties even further. The 2005 royalty rate was 7/100 of a penny per song streamed; the 2010 rate will be 19/100 of a penny per song streamed. And for small webcasters that were able to calculate royalties as a percentage of revenue in 2005 – that option was quashed by the CRB, so small webcasters’ royalties will grow exponentially!

Before this ruling was handed down, the vast majority of webcasters were barely making ends meet as Internet radio advertising revenue is just beginning to develop. Without a doubt most Internet radio services will go bankrupt and cease webcasting if this royalty rate is not reversed by the Congress, and webcasters’ demise will mean a great loss of creative and diverse radio. Surviving webcasters will need sweetheart licenses that major record labels will be only too happy to offer, so long as the webcaster permits the major label to control the programming and playlist. Is that the Internet radio you care to hear?

As you know, the wonderful diversity of Internet radio is enjoyed by tens of millions of Americans and provides promotional and royalty opportunities to independent labels and artists that are not available to them on broadcast radio. What you may not know is that in just the last year Internet radio listening jumped dramatically, from 45 million listeners per month to 72 million listeners each month. Internet radio is already popular and it is already benefiting thousands of artists who are finding new fans online every day.

Action must be taken to stop this faulty ruling from destroying the future of Internet radio that so many millions of listeners depend on each day. Instead of relying on lawyers filing appeals in the CRB and the courts, the SaveNetRadio Coalition has been formed to represent every webcaster, every Net Radio listener, and every artist who enjoys and benefits from this medium. Please join our fight for the preservation of Internet radio.

- posted by Josh @ 11:02 AM (0) comments

 
Hotlink to Photo Gallery (7)
Since pictures and such eventually drop off the front page, I thought I would set up a hotlink to a gallery over at Flickr. If you click on the picture on the right-hand side, you'll be taken to my gallery, where you can see the pictures I've uploaded.

Right now all I have are pics of baby Ty, but now that I have an account there, I'll finally upload those pictures from Origins that I've long intended to have posted online.

So... at some point I should have those up. Stay tuned!
- posted by Josh @ 10:06 PM (0) comments

 
So much for the experiment? (6)
Why did I think I would be able to make 30 posts in 30 days with a new baby in the house? Everything was fine right up until Friday, when we brought Ty home.

With Mary laid up because of her incision from the c-section, it falls to me to perform most of the domestic tasks around the house. And help take care of the baby.

It's wonderful -- don't get me wrong -- but I am tired, and just as I manage to catch a few moments to relax, something else needs doing.

Welcome to fatherhood.

There will be more later... but I'm not sure how soon 'later' will be.
- posted by Josh @ 11:34 AM (0) comments

 
April Snow (5)
Mother Nature celebrated Ty's birth by dumping quite a bit of snow on top of Bangor.



It started late Wednesday evening and continued through Thursday morning. The road conditions were so bad at one point that as I was out shoveling the sidewalk, I saw one of the city's plow trucks go sliding sideways across our street and get mired in the snowbank along our driveway.



They had to get a heavier piece of equipment, chain it up to the plow, and haul it out (no simple task -- the heavy-duty tractor plow was having trouble getting traction as well).



It warmed up a little bit during the afternoon -- enough so that the streets didn't stay snowy. Once clear, they were just wet. Still, it was a strange bit of weather after the days a couple of weeks back where the temperature would climb up into the 50s.

Something else to make this a memorable week.
- posted by Josh @ 7:51 PM (0) comments

 
More pictures (4)
Long day today (time at the hospital, followed by work), so it's just going to be a quick post, adding some more pictures of Ty and the delivery from yesterday.


- posted by Josh @ 10:09 PM (0) comments

 
Welcome to the world... (3)


Both mom and baby are doing well. If you'll excuse me, I need to head over to the hospital to spend more time with them both before I work this evening.

(PS -- I would have posted this last night, but our internet connection was down.)
- posted by Josh @ 9:15 AM (1) comments

 
It's only a day away... (2)
So here's a baby update.

A little over a month ago, at the ultrasound back in February, everything was right on target -- estimated weight was about 4 pounds, 1 ounce. At the following ultrasound (about a week and a half ago) there was a concern. Estimated weight was only at 4 pounds, 11 ounces -- half a pound (or more) behind the desired/typical target weight range.

This, in addition to the concerns with Mary's gestational diabetes, back problems, and possible complications due to her medications, prompted the doctor to schedule a C-section for April 3rd.

That's tomorrow.

At about 11:30am, we arrive at the hospital for pre-surgery prep, and at 1:30 Mary goes under the knife. It's spinal anesthetic, so she'll be conscious, and I'll be there as well. A cut a few inches long, and out will come the newest addition to the family. Putting Mary's insides back in order will take longer than the delivery.

The past week has been filled with the repetitious questions, "Are you ready?" "Are you excited?" "Are you nervous?" And, to be honest, I've been getting a little tired of them.

But now, with the delivery less than 24 hours away... I am starting to get those flutters of nerves in my stomach. It's a lot like the anticipation I would feel before opening night of a show -- keyed up, restless...

I'm not nervous about the delivery -- we have a good doctor, and she does this sort of thing fairly regularly. I'm nervous about the next twenty years... this is a big event, and while I have friends and family who will no doubt offer support, advice, and so forth... there's ultimately no real way to prepare for this.

You can take all the classes you want, read all the books on the shelf, but it's likely to go out the window the first time you hold your child in your arms.

So... we will see what tomorrow brings. Until next time!
- posted by Josh @ 6:43 PM (0) comments

 
Thirty posts in thirty days (1)
This post is going to be short, but it will introduce the idea I hope to run with this month.

Back on March 12, Wil Wheaton made a post to his blog about 30 blog posts in 30 days -- kind of a NaNoWriMo for bloggers (but without the massive organization).

Since I have been rather lax in updating this blog recently, I thought I would make an effort to make daily updates in April. There's a lot going on this month, and I would like to try and document as much of it as possible.

So... stay tuned to this space as the experiment goes forward. It's sure to be interesting.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to work (which is decidedly uninteresting).
- posted by Josh @ 2:36 PM (0) comments